Feeling Stuck? Momentum is a Mercy Reach Away.

Have you ever felt stuck in something?

A relationship?

A habit?

A job?

A dream?

A good ol’ fashioned rut of some sort?

My “stuckness” found me looking up the word momentum: The impetus gained by a moving object. Hmmm. Impetus? I grab my pipe and don my most sleuth-like cap as I turn another stone.

Impetus is defined as: The driving force of a moving body that results in increased activity. More stones turn as I ask myself,

What is the something (or Someone) that gets the body moving in the first place?

Maybe lack of momentum isn’t my problem. Perhaps what I need has far more to do with the force that moves me in the first place.

Ann Lamont tells a poignant story in her book Hallelujah Anyway-Rediscovering Mercy. A homeless man, who had soiled himself, was met with a tender (merciful) response by others. The loving act displayed by the caregivers deeply moved Lamont’s friend, Tom. As Tom relayed the event to Lamont she observes,

These men Tom told me about were common people, reached by a goodness outside or visitation from within. Something merciful found them where they were. {Emphasis mine.}

Of course. Mercy found them. The miracle that played out wasn’t becasue of saintly caregivers or a surrended recipient. The agent of change was mercy. God’s mercy.

How often have I prayed that I, or those I love, would do this or do that, go here or go there? As if my future, or theirs, were singularly dependent upon what we do or don’t do.

Mercy finds us.

It comes first. Newton would call it the First Law of Motion. If an object is standing still and is not contacted by any forces, it will continue to remain motionless.

Momentum isn’t even an option in my life until I’m touched by mercy. Then and only then can momentum occur.

I’m wrecked (and relieved) by the realization of how little this business of who I am and who I hope to become has so little to do with me!

Don’t get me wrong. I know we choose. (We could have a long cup of coffee over the matter of free will and the responsibilty we each assume for our own choices.) But at the end of the day the work…the mercy…

The “thing” that puts the ball in motion is Him.

Shoulders lift as my tears fall. The “stuckness” that brought me to this moment has been replaced by momentum. Contemplating this truth has left me with a soul serenity that matches the glass lake in front of me. I’m not fooled by the stillness. I know that God is a God of paradox.

There’s a current beneath the still that has opened up and it’s moving strong and powerful. I’m comforted in the fact that the current is as real as the change He’s making in me. He’s awakened the desire to move, and to choose and respond as a woman who knows she’s deeply loved.

I heard author Sara Hagerty say,

Lovers outwork workers any day of the week.

The “work” of a relationship, goal, duty, or dream looks different when it’s a response to mercy. There’s less of me…more of Him. (And He’s got way more resource than I do!)

If you also need momentum in your life be encouraged by the scripture below. Mercy has already reached out. Believe it. Movement has already begun and the pre-requisite for momentum has been met. You and I just need to grab hold of it.

He saved us. It wasn’t because of the good things we had done. It was because of his mercy. Titus 3:5 NIRV

But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God’s gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there’s more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this. Titus 3:5 MSG